Palo Alto: Committee favors longer term limits, smaller council

Palo Alto moved a step closer Tuesday to asking voters to approve charter amendments that would shrink the size of the City Council but allow its members to hold office longer.

The council's Policy and Services Committee voted to recommend that the full council place charter amendments on the November ballot that would extend the number of four-year terms a council member can serve from two to three, and slash the number of seats from nine to seven.

Both proposals were floated in a memo last year by councilwomen Gail Price, Liz Kniss and Nancy Shepherd. Earlier this month, the council asked the committee to recommend whether to pursue them.

Councilman Greg Scharff, a member of the committee, said council members would have a better shot at securing seats on key regional bodies like the Metropolitan Transportation Commission if they could serve longer.

"I think Palo Alto is at a disadvantage regionally, especially on a lot of things we care about," Scharff said.

Councilman Greg Schmid countered that council members should focus on "being close to the people" they represent, not serving on regional bodies. He was the only member of the four-person committee to oppose recommending a charter amendment to extend term limits.

"Extending term limits, I think, puts up little barriers between us and the people," Schmid said.

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The committee was evenly divided over when the change should take effect, assuming it is approved by voters. Scharff and Price favored 2018, while Councilman Larry Klein said it should be immediate.

"I think it provides a transition," Price said. "It certainly does have an impact on those in office now. But it also gives people a chance who really don't know what the slate will be and who will be running in this next cycle."

"I think we're being contradictory," Klein said. "We're saying one of the reasons to get rid of term limits is so that we can be more effective in serving on various regional boards and committees. ... Now we're saying we should defer that effectiveness for another four years."

The committee also voted 3-1, with Schmid opposed, to recommend that the full council place a charter amendment on the ballot that reduces the number of seats from nine to seven.

"I think seven is clearly more efficient, but I do think that efficiency isn't always the goal of government," said Scharff, adding that he was worried about increasing the workload for the remaining council members.

Klein shared the same concerns but said a decline in the number of people running for officer was more troubling.

"I'm increasingly concerned about the lack of candidates," he said.

Schmid wasn't convinced a problem existed. Traditionally, there have been 2.5 candidates per open seat, he said. He also argued that a larger council is inherently more representative of the populace it serves.

"I think it's a crowning glory in Palo Alto that we're willing to put up with some of the inefficiency of having a larger number of council members for the benefit it provides to the public," Schmid said.

The committee clashed again over when the change should take effect and ultimately voted 3-1, with Schmid opposed, for it to be immediate.

"If the voters want it," Klein said, "why delay it?"

The committee couldn't reach agreement on whether to recommend a third charter amendment that would change when council terms start and end. The full council is expected to discuss the matter when it considers the committee's recommendations on June 16.

The council has until Aug. 8 to place the charter amendments on the ballot. They would cost $75,000 each, according to City Clerk Donna Grider, and require a simple majority to pass.